


Eat You Alive

by pikablob



Category: Nightlights - Lorena Alvarez
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-19 10:26:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22909570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikablob/pseuds/pikablob
Summary: Weeks after their first encounter, Sandy runs into Morfie again, only to realise they have a lot more in common than she first thought.
Relationships: Sandy & Morfie (Nightlights)
Kudos: 1





	Eat You Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Recommended Songs: [Eat You Alive (Morfie's Theme)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5s0oB1EzpA), [Constellations (Sandy's Theme)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDjAt7zj7Z8)

After bed was Sandy’s favourite part of the day. Each evening she would practically count the seconds until bedtime, whiling away her after-school time with her drawings, until finally the lights were out and the nightlights came to visit. Each night she would bring her drawings to life, flooding her own little world with brilliant flora and fauna of all kinds, and she loved every second of it.

That night she was soaring aboard a massive avian creature, its four wings beating and its feathers shimmering every colour of the rainbow. Below wetlands full of bioluminescent plants raced past, frogs and toads and all kinds of fantastical wildlife watching her with bulging orange eyes. Overhead multicoloured stars shimmered, formed into fantastical constellations. She couldn’t help but grin, taking in the whole thing and feeling the wind on her face.

Gently she guided her steed down to fly between the technicolour trees. More creatures flashed past, even stranger and more fantastical than her earlier creations; a bioluminescent jellyfish waved hello from between the clouds, while a newt with insectoid wings buzzed happily around her.

A flash of something in the trees snapped her attention away. Amid the riot of colour was a shock of silvery-white, half-concealed between the brightly-coloured fronds of two approaching trees. Sandy squinted at it as she raced towards it, feeling certain that she hadn’t drawn anything that colourless. As it drew near she could suddenly make out a familiar face, skin pale and eyes a vacant grey, framed by long silvery hair with the faintest hint of purple.

“Gaaah!” she jumped at the sight, feeling her grip on her steed slip away. For a moment she locked eyes with the person; they looked just as shocked as she felt.

And then she was falling backwards, away from the sight and off her creature’s back. Her stomach leapt into her throat, the air whistling around her. Above the beast continued on, rainbow wings reflecting the stars above, completely unaware of the little girl plummeting to the ground below it. There was nothing she could do.

* * *

Sandy’s eyes shot open. She blinked, her breaths quick and sharp, the memory of the fall still fresh in her mind. But she wasn’t falling anymore, nor was she lying on the slimy floor of the neon wetland she’d created. Instead she was back in bed, curled up under her sheets, with the familiar ceiling of her bedroom overhead. She took a deep breath; she was safe.

She sat up slowly; her eyes were weird and dry-feeling, and she still felt sleepy. For a moment she considered going back to sleep, maybe even hoping the nightlights would come back. But before she could even try a voice from downstairs cut through her thoughts.

“Sandy! It’s time to get up!” her dad called from somewhere downstairs. “You’ll be late for school!” She shook her head, doing her best to clear the drowsiness from her mind, and scrambled out of bed as fast as her little legs would carry her.

She quickly washed and threw on her uniform, scrambling downstairs with her jumper still over her head. She pulled it down just as her feet hit the kitchen floor, getting concerned looks from both her parents. Her mother frowned, stepping up to try and brush some shape into her hair.

“Did you sleep okay, cricket?” she asked concernedly.

“I’m fine,” Sandy said quickly, nodding. She quickly hugged her mother, before sitting down at the table. She gulped down her tea as fast as she could, before shoving an entire croissant into her mouth and leaping to her feet again. She wolfed it down as she reached the door, glancing back at her parents one last time before hurrying on.

As she raced to school all she could think about was the face in the night. She barely paid attention through registration and assembly, only able to focus on that one thing. It unnerved her, not just because something she hadn’t created had somehow shown up in her dream, but because she was sure she recognised it.

After what felt like an eternity first period rolled around, and for the first time that day Sandy could get a proper look at her notebook. She quickly flipped back through it, barely even registering Sister Dolores’ droning from the front. She went past her drawings of Hicotea and Den and all their wetland friends, past atomic diagrams buried under swirling flowers, past dozens of magical creatures she’d let loose thanks to the nightlights.

Finally she found what she was looking for. It was a drawing of a girl’s head and shoulders, drawn more carefully than her usual doodles, filling an entire page. She gulped, immediately recognising it as the same face she had seen last night. That could only mean one thing; the person in her little world last night was Morfie, the creepy child-thing that had tried to force Sandy to stay with her forever.

She turned the page; the next one was covered by another drawing of Morfie, this time in her true form. She had great bulging eyes and wickedly sharp teeth, her skin slimy and her hair perpetually flowing out behind her like she was underwater. It was creepy, and Sandy quickly flicked back to the first page.

As she did her gaze landed on the opposite page to the first drawing. It was a doodle of her and Morfie playing together in the old biology store room, the day Sister Dolores had told Sandy to go and write lines in there. At the time it had been some of the most fun she’d ever had, finally meeting someone who shared her interest in the fantastical and weird. But now the memory was tainted with bitterness, knowing that Morfie had only been trying to win her over so she could trap her.

Sandy sighed, quickly flipping back through to the blank pages of her notebook. She started doodling, drawing out random spirals and shapes in the hopes of distracting herself, but all her thoughts kept coming back to the girl with the silver hair. Muttering frustratedly to herself, she took a deep breath and started drawing in earnest.

* * *

Sandy managed to get through the rest of the day without much fuss. Thankfully none of the sisters called on her, leaving her free to daydream and draw as she saw fit. She had populated three pages with new creatures and plants, half of them redesigns of older creations, a record low for her. But that wasn’t for lack of work; she had also drawn three more detailed drawings, each one a page on its own.

The first was of Morfie peeking through the fronds, like she had the night before. After some deliberation Sandy had given her the gentle smile she’d been wearing when they first met, a smile that now she looked back she couldn’t tell how genuine it was. The second had Morfie perched in the tree outside Sandy’s window, unbothered by driving rain. And the third was Morfie as Sandy had last seen her; in her creepy aquatic form, sitting cross-legged with a notebook in her lap, trying to write out every digit of Pi.

Deep down Sandy knew why this whole thing was so distracting, and it wasn’t because she was afraid of having her drawings stolen again. It was because despite everything, despite the lies and the trickery, she still missed the person Morfie had pretended to be. That was why she had mostly drawn the friendly human, rather than the creepy fish-girl; some part of her still wished that had been the real Morfie.

Her mother noticed her demeanour when she finally arrived home, hurrying in to avoid a growing storm outside. The woman frowned concernedly at the sight, gently setting down two bowls of soup on the table and taking a seat. Sandy kicked her boots off and sat beside her, but her mind was elsewhere.

“Cricket?” her mother asked gently, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she rebuffed, trying not to sound upset, “It’s nothing; I’m just tired.” She could tell her mother didn’t believe her for a second, but the woman didn’t want to press.

“Well if you say so, but you can always talk to me if something is up, remember?”

“I know,” Sandy reassured, “And I will.” She quickly slurped down the rest of her soup, before standing up. “I’ve got to go and do my homework,” she quickly explained, before hurrying upstairs before her mother even had time to respond. Her mother blinked in surprise; since when had Sandy ever been eager to do homework?

It felt like an eternity before darkness finally fell and she crawled into bed. Slowly the nightlights returned, filling her room with gentle light, and she felt a little better as she got to work creating. But every time she made something new she found herself glancing over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of silvery hair.

She created a vast ocean under a sky with three moons, and filled the seabed with massive caves and huge reefs all busy with plants and fish. Neon eels swam by, while herds of jellyfish large enough to ride floated above and multi-eyed crabs scuttled underfoot. Finally she drew a giant bubble for herself, large enough to fit her whole head inside, and she set off to explore her latest paradise.

As she travelled down she filled out her world even more, littering cave walls with bioluminescent mushrooms and all manner of corals. She set worms wiggling along the floors, and lit the ceilings with massive crystals to reflect the plants’ glow. But all the while she kept getting the sensation that she was being watched, and at every turn she half expected to see Morfie’s face once again.

Finally she decided enough was enough. Somehow she had to find Morfie, to confront her about everything. She swam down, deeper and deeper into the cave system she had created; she wasn’t really sure how it worked, or even how she knew, but somehow she was sure she could get back into the weird dark realm Morfie called home if she swam deep enough.

Down and further down Sandy went, the cave around her growing darker and darker, until finally she felt the sensation of water around her fade away. The bubble around her head popped abruptly, and she landed with a bump on solid ground. Sure enough all around her was darkness, and the air around her was chilly. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end; she could already imagine what might lurk in the void, images of hungry eyes watching her every move filling her mind.

Suddenly something caught her eye. Off to one side, distantly, was a familiar silvery shape. Gingerly she approached, trying not to make too much noise. For the first time she started to second-guess her decision to come down here, but she quickly swallowed her fear and pressed on.

Morfie was in her true form, sitting with her back turned, hair floating lazily in the still air. She looked strangely small, and not nearly as threatening as she had the first time, At first she didn’t notice Sandy’s approach, too engrossed in whatever she was looking at, and for a second the girl wondered if she was still trying to write out Pi in full. But then Morfie glanced back, bulging eyes going even wider, and suddenly she shot up.

“What are you doing here?!” she hissed, suddenly floating two feet off the ground, arms clutched strangely around her chest. All around her the void seemed to light up, dozens of menacing eyes suddenly opening to glare at Sandy.

“You were watching me last night,” Sandy gulped, “Why?” Morfie didn’t reply; her arms twitched, and between her clawed fingers Sandy saw a flash of blue. With a jolt she realised she was looking at her old notebook, the one she had tricked Morfie into writing Pi into, now clutched protectively against the other girl’s chest. Morfie noticed her gaze.

“You tricked me!” she spat suddenly, thrusting the book forwards. “Pi doesn’t have an end!”

“You tricked me first!” Sandy pouted, folding her arms. Morfie looked almost offended. “You lied to me; you pretended to be my friend, and to like my drawings, when all you really wanted was to trap me here so you could eat them!” Morfie’s expression twisted into something halfway between hurt and fury. She seemed to float lower, and pulled the book back against her body.

“Of course I wanted to be your friend!” she shot back, unable to keep her voice from cracking. Sandy stepped back in surprise, struggling to process the outburst. Morfie was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. “If all I wanted was your drawings I could just have taken your books. I wanted you; I thought you’d want to draw all day, and finally get all the love and appreciation you deserve. We could be together, forever. What could possibly be better than that?”

“I’d get tired eventually,” Sandy replied cautiously, “I love drawing, but it’s not all I do. And I’d want to see other places, real places, and my mother and my classmates and all my friends in the wetland would miss me.” She looked down, taking an uncertain step back towards Morfie. “Why do you even want to eat my drawings? You don’t need them to survive, or else you wouldn’t still be here.”

Morfie’s expression shifted again, a dozen different emotions seeming to pass through those bulging grey eyes before she finally settled on what might just have been guilt. Slowly she touched down, holding the stolen notebook loosely in front of her. She kept her gaze firmly on it, refusing to look up.

“They’re so full of light and life,” she admitted, suddenly using the quiet voice Sandy had come to associate with her human form, “Like you. Eating your creations makes me feel all warm on the inside, like nothing else. It’s always cold down here.”

Sandy blinked. She couldn’t be absolutely sure that was truthful, not anymore, but her instinct was still to trust. She felt a pang of sympathy; Morfie wasn’t some monster. Sure she could be scary, and she had tried to trap Sandy down here forever, but deep down she was just a lonely girl. She didn’t have anyone to turn to at all down here, no mother or father or friends, just a load of monsters with creepy eyes that didn’t talk.

“You don’t need to eat drawings to feel like that,” Sandy said firmly. “Didn’t you feel something similar that day we played in the store room?”

“When we swapped that dummy’s brain with his heart?” The ghost of a smile crossed Morfie’s face, for once lacking any sharp teeth. “And you hit the moon halfway across the room with that stuffed bird?” Sandy suppressed a giggle, unable to hide her joy at the memory. Knowing that whole event had been genuine felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Yes, I did,” Morfie finally admitted, fidgeting with the book in her claws.

“See?” Sandy extended a hand. “I can’t stay down here, and you can’t have me all to yourself, but we can still be friends if you want?” Morfie seemed to consider it for a moment, looking her up and down suspiciously. After a moment she seemed satisfied this wasn’t another trick, awkwardly pressing the notebook into Sandy’s outstretched hand.

“Yes,” Morfie said quietly, “That sounds nice.” She looked away as Sandy took the notebook back, having a quick look through all the pages. The whole second half of the book, including the back cover, was taken up by Pi. “I didn’t eat all of the stuff in there,” Morfie went on, “I was saving it. And it’s not nearly as good but it is nice to look at. I meant what I said about your drawings.”

“Is that why you were watching me?”

She nodded, ashamed, and took a deep breath. “Sorry, for, you know.”

“It’s okay,” Sandy replied, tucking the book under one arm and taking Morfie’s claw in her other hand. She cringed internally at how cold and clammy it felt, but she tried not to let that show on her face. Of course, Morfie noticed.

There was a squelching sound, and suddenly Morfie wasn’t a slimy creature anymore. Instead she had reverted to her human form, with her hair obscuring the edges of her face and uncertain hope in her now-grey eyes. Her hand was still cold, but it didn’t make the hairs on Sandy’s neck stand-on end anymore.

“Is this better?”

“You can look however you want,” Sandy said firmly, “At least here. I don’t mind; I’m not Sister Dolores.”

“I like this form.” It sounded like a confession. Morfie glanced over her shoulder, back at the few eyes still watching her from the void. “They don’t.”

“Then wear it.” Sandy smiled, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “The look suits you.” Morfie’s human face was hard to read, but Sandy was pretty sure she saw relief in her expression. “Now, want to head up?”

“Let’s go,” Morfie agreed, letting herself be lead away from the void. She felt a swelling of that warmth inside, the same one she had felt when she had eaten one of Sandy’s creations, or when they’d spent those hours playing pretend in the store room. She glanced back one more time, then let herself be pulled up into the beautiful ocean.

* * *

Sandy awoke slowly, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. For a moment she paused, wondering why she wasn’t being called down for school, before it clicked in her mind; today was a Saturday, so for once she didn’t have to be up early.

She couldn’t help smiling as she recalled the night’s events. Her and Morfie were friends once more, for real this time, and they’d spent the evening creating all sorts of new and amazing things. Most of Morfie’s inventions had been strange, weird wriggly things with too many eyes and limbs, but they turned out cute in their own way. And besides, the real fun was in having someone else to play with, regardless of how their creations turned out.

“San! There’s someone here to see you!” her mother’s insistent voice cut through her thoughts. She blinked: she was sure she wasn’t expecting anyone. Nobody at school liked her enough to visit, and her parents hadn’t mentioned any relatives expected.

She didn’t really have time to think of other possibilities; she didn’t waste another moment, leaping out of bed and storming down the stairs. She stumbled into the kitchen and towards the door, looking up to see her mother’s patient face looking down at her. Behind her, framed in the light of the front door, was a familiar girl her age with silver hair and grey eyes.

“Hello,” Morfie greeted, somewhat shyly. “I thought, maybe, we could spend today together?” she asked hopefully. Sandy paused for a moment, still not-quite-awake, before nodding frantically.

“Of course,” she said, before glancing up at her mother. “This is Morfie, the new girl I told you about.”

“Oh.” her mother’s confusion broke into a smile.

“Is it okay if I go out with her?”

“I don’t see why not, cricket,” she agreed with a soft chuckle, “But you can’t go out in your pajamas.”

“Right.” Sandy nodded, before looking back at her friend. “I’ll be back in a minute!” She practically took off, sprinting back upstairs with a spring in her step. As she ran she heard her mother inviting Morfie in, telling her it would likely be a few minutes.

She got dressed in record time, even by her own standards, and quickly washed before grabbing her headphones and newest notebook. She was down again in less than ten minutes, excitement brimming as she rejoined her friend.

“Ready?” Morfie asked.

“Ready,” Sandy grinned, reaching out to take her hand. She lead her to the door, unable to keep a grin from crossing her face. Morfie returned it, and for the briefest of moments Sandy thought she could see her true face, a genuine smile bared beneath those bulging eyes, before Morfie’s human form reasserted itself.

“Don’t be back late!” Sandy’s mother called as she stepped out into the light.

“We won’t!” Sandy called back, waving briefly with her free hand before the door swung shut.

“So,” Morfie asked, her smile turning almost conspiratorial, “Where can we go?”

“I thought you had an idea?” Sandy shrugged. Morfie shook her head.

“I want you to choose what we do today.”

“Then…” Sandy paused, struggling to think. She’d never been in a position like this before; normally she would just put on her headphones and draw all day, but now she had someone else to spend the day with, and for a moment she was at a loss. Suddenly an idea hit, like a bulb lighting up in her brain. “Let’s go to the wetland!”

“The wetland?”

“It’s a great place for inspiration,” she explained, “And I’ve got friends there who I’m sure will want to meet you. What do you say?”

“That sounds nice,” Morfie agreed, though she still sounded a little uncertain.

“Then come on.” Sandy grinned, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Morfie returned the gesture, feeling a swelling of warmth inside. It wasn’t like when she devoured drawings; that always left her feeling hungry for more, somehow unfulfilled. This felt different, better, like she was somehow more complete than she had ever been before. Sandy had been right: this was way better than her original plan.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [reynaruina on tumblr](https://reynaruina.tumblr.com/), there's now art to go with this fic!!


End file.
